It’s finally here. Officially anyways. Much to the delight of many Malaysians, Samsung and Googlehas announced the introduction of the much-awaited GALAXY Nexus superphone to the Malaysian market. The GALAXY Nexus is the world’s first smartphone to feature Android 4.0Ice Cream Sandwichout of the box. The GALAXY Nexus is what’s called a ‘Pure Google’ experience, similar to all other in the Nexus series of Google phones – sans any third-party custom UI layer on top. The GALAXY Nexus features a yummilicious 4.65″ HD Super AMOLED display (supporting 1280×720 pixel resolution) and 1.2Ghz dual core processor.

As previewed hands-on in Jakarta during the Samsung GALAXY Note World Tour last year, I have the opinion that the GALAXY Nexus-Ice Cream Sandwich combination is the ultimate partnership in the smartphone experience. Zippy, intuitive and sexy, the GALAXY Nexus is certainly a much-desired mobile device in this point in time.
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Ice Cream Sandwich is a unified release (for both smartphones and tablets) and incorporates some innovative new features such as Android Beam and Face Unlock. Android Beam utilises NFC to enable users to quickly share web pages, apps, and videos by simply tapping phones together. Face Unlock enables users to unlock the phone just by facial recognition. ICS also brings an entirely new user interface with software-only navigation buttons, a first for Android smartphones. Many key features like lock screen, home screen and phone app have been rethought and redesigned. Overall, a much more polished and refined experience over Gingerbread and HoneyComb (for tablets).

In terms of design, the GALAXY Nexus is by far one of the sexiest Android phones to ever been released with its curved hyper-skin backing on the battery cover and contoured display. It’s just 8.94mm thick with a minimum 4.29mm bezel making it a perfect fit in your palm. The build quality is one of the best I’ve laid hands on and the overall feel is premium.

It may not have the fastest processor nor biggest megapixel camera, but the GALAXY Nexus proves that the right combination of hardware and software can provide the ultimate user experience. Ice Cream Sandwich just works so well on this hardware. As demonstrated in my short video shot in Jakarta last year, the GALAXY Nexus camera is really quick, with zero lag. Its 5MP sensor is no match for the Samsung GALAXY S II’s 8MP wonder, but acceptable by today’s standards. Don’t forget it features panorama mode, 1080p video capture and special effects.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=947w7188uj4

GALAXY Nexus is available at Samsung Elite Partners (SEP), Celcom and Digi from today for RM2,099. I can’t wait to get my hands on one! (Samsung GALAXY S II for sale, anyone?)

* All functionality, features, specifications and other product information provided in this document including, but not limited to, the benefits, design, pricing, components, performance, availability, and capabilities of the product are subject to change without notice or obligation.

Check out the video below:
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdD8s0jFJYo

“Samsung and Google have collaborated closely to accelerate the mobile experience for consumers. We are pleased to deliver the most advanced Android smartphone experience with the introduction of GALAXY Nexus. Samsung will continue to move forward with Android to provide the most compelling consumer experience in the mobile world,” said Kwon Jae Hoon, Managing Director Samsung Malaysia Electronics.

“Ice Cream Sandwich demonstrates the ability of the Android platform to deliver continuous innovation with one release that works on phones and tablets and everything in between. Features like Android Beam and Face Unlock show the ground-breaking work our team is doing, and GALAXY Nexus showcases the power behind Ice Cream Sandwich,” said Andy Rubin, Senior Vice President of Mobile for Google.

The first smartphone to feature Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich

Ice Cream Sandwich brings an entirely new look and feel to Android. It has a redesigned user interface with improved multi-tasking, notifications, Wi-Fi hotspot capability, and a full web browsing experience for users. GALAXY Nexus features software navigation buttons which is a first for Android smartphones. The lock screen, home screen and phone app, are some of a long list of features that have been rethought and redesigned to make Android simple, beautiful, and useful.

Ice Cream Sandwich features a new People app, which allows users to browse profiles of friends, family, and coworkers, see their photos in high-resolution and check their latest status updates from Google+ and other social networks. GALAXY Nexus also features a redesigned camera which introduces panorama mode, 1080p video capture, zero-shutter lag, and effects like silly faces and background replacement.

GALAXY Nexus is connected to cloud, keeping emails, contacts and all other data synced across devices. Users have access to more than 300,000 apps and games from Android Market™.

GALAXY Nexus is designed to provide a “pure Google,” experience, and with it, users will be the first to receive software upgrades and new applications as they become available.

It also features a number of Google Mobile services, including: Android Market™, Gmail™, Google Maps™ 5.0 with 3D maps and turn-by-turn navigation, Google Earth™, Movie Studio, YouTube™, syncing with Google Calendar™, and a redesigned Google+ app.

Best-in-class hardware meets the most advanced software

GALAXY Nexus is the first smartphone to feature a 4.65’’ display with a market-leading resolution of 720p (1280×720), ensuring enjoyment of GALAXY Nexus’ immersive entertainment capabilities and fast web browsing in superior clarity.

Succeeding the original Contour Display of Nexus S, GALAXY Nexus comes with a rounded shape that fits perfectly within your palm or to your face for phone calls. Hyper-skin backing on the battery cover improves the ergonomic feel of the device and makes the phone slip-resistant. At just 8.94mm thick, with a minimal 4.29mm bezel, GALAXY Nexus provides superb portability alongside an expansive screen.

GALAXY Nexus also features an ultra-fast 1.2GHz dual core processor, providing superior power and speed, ensuring users can take full advantage of GALAXY Nexus’ enhanced multitasking capabilities with ease, or enjoy the large, vivid display to its full capacity with high-definition gaming or video streaming. LTE or HSPA+ connectivity combined with a dual core processor delivers high-speed web browsing which ensures users always have the web at their fingertips, wherever they are.

GALAXY Nexus will be available at Samsung Elite Partners (SEP), Celcom and Digi from 13th January, 2012 onwards.

For multimedia content and more detailed information, please visit http://www.samsung.com/my.

* All functionality, features, specifications and other product information provided in this document including, but not limited to, the benefits, design, pricing, components, performance, availability, and capabilities of the product are subject to change without notice or obligation.